Diagnosing fridge cut out/leisure battery

[MattBW]

Having a weird experience in the beach, which I wouldn't mind sharing and getting some feedback on diagnosing where the issue lies. Is my fridge iffy or my battery?

I use a Waeco CF40, which works great on 12v and 240v.

The issue is the low voltage cut out seems to kick in quite a lot of late, even when the voltage is showing as 12.6v and higher on a standalone volt meter. The fridge however will still hold temp for 3 days with the battery showing as fine, the compressor kicking in, then cutting out but running long enough to make a difference.

With the engine running its fine which points to battery to me however the fact it runs for days and holds temp is confusing, especially as my heater has so far never gone to low voltage cutout.

Is the battery (80ah lead acid not the 68ah agm it should be) just struggling to give enough current at peak, a sign its duff? Or could my fridge be detecting voltages wrong? Does the beach have the earth shunt issue?

 

[Loz]

Do you have another battery that you could setup in the house or garage to test the fridge in isolation?

 

[MattBW]

Yes funnily I do, not sure why I didnt think of that.

 

[Loz]

Yes funnily I do, not sure why I didnt think of that.

Its because you are concentrating on the problem in its entirety, I do network troubleshooting where you have to think of things in isolation and from the ground up one item at a time..

 

[WelshGas]

Yes funnily I do, not sure why I didnt think of that.

If you do test with a second battery you should ensure you use a similar Plug/Socket and length/gauge of wire as used on your vehicle.
It might be just the wire gauge and length compared with the plug/socket giving a higher resistance.

Didn't @Sp0_0k have a similar problem whilst in Norway?

Found the thread.

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/fridge-doesnt-like-leisure-battery.14749/#post-158475

 

[MattBW]

The Cali plug shows as 20amp on the socket, no idea how much cable is in there though.

The fridge with compressor running is about 3 - 6amps I believe so well within that in theory.


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[MattBW]

Spec of Waeco CF40

 

[WelshGas]

The Cali plug shows as 20amp on the socket, no idea how much cable is in there though.

The fridge with compressor running is about 3 - 6amps I believe so well within that in theory.


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In theory. Did you read the above Thread I posted?

Your Specification states - " Nominal " current, not actual. With thin rather than thick wiring it maybe that the sensing voltage the fridge uses may trip the cut-out.

 

[MattBW]

In theory. Did you read the above Thread I posted?

Your Specification states - " Nominal " current, not actual. With thin rather than thick wiring it maybe that the sensing voltage the fridge uses may trip the cut-out.

I did now. I have found the only way to stop it tripping out constantly is to put the voltage sensing down to Low but that puts my battery at risk as it only trips at 10.4v and will come back on again at 11.2. That feels like battery damaging territory?

I usually use Medium which is out at 11.0 and back on at 12v which Im nervous about. Under load my voltage is dropping below 11 but then recovering instantly to above 12 and retriggering. Runs for a few seconds and then cuts again. It's enough to keep it cold though ongoing but I do get error lights flashing periodically.

The cable is the factory cable provided with the fridge so I would hope its ok, I guess it could have got damaged somewhere I can't see. It is rather too long for the use imho.

 

[WelshGas]

I did now. I have found the only way to stop it tripping out constantly is to put the voltage sensing down to Low but that puts my battery at risk as it only trips at 10.4v and will come back on again at 11.2. That feels like battery damaging territory?

I usually use Medium which is out at 11.0 and back on at 12v which Im nervous about. Under load my voltage is dropping below 11 but then recovering instantly to above 12 and retriggering. Runs for a few seconds and then cuts again. It's enough to keep it cold though ongoing but I do get error lights flashing periodically.

The cable is the factory cable provided with the fridge so I would hope its ok, I guess it could have got damaged somewhere I can't see. It is rather too long for the use imho.

Why not fit a dedicated socket with thick wire and in-line fuse direct from the leisure battery, for fridge use only and shorten the fridge cable. Personally I would do the former first.

 

[MattBW]

For anyone finding this thead whilst searching, a dedicated connection for the fridge did indeed solve the problem with the poor (supposedly 20a) Beach socket.

Please visit https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/thread...e-to-leisure-battery.17642/page-2#post-207993 for more detail.